Thanks for the responses everyone...I think I'm on the right track! I think that most of her accounts will be fine paying via credit card...there might be a couple still that will need to utilize bill pay which Chase is great for from my experience. So if they don't accept credit card online and/or ...

Hi all, For those that automate paying regular monthly bills...I would like to know how you go about it...and if you have anything to add on my plan below. I’m helping my mother set this up for herself so she can avoid the stress of having to even deal with paying her regular bills on a monthly basi...

Although, if they get to take all deductions, unlike a primary home they get to deduct all the mortgage interest on the rental. So, effectively they're borrowing at a lower rate and someone else is paying the interest anyway. Side question for someone who eventually might become a landlord: Mortgag...

Either way, since she'll basically be paying zero tax on the majority of this anyway, I think any of these approaches as long as they're somewhat logical that we made an attempt, I would think should be just fine. The biggest side effect I see of a really low-ball estimate on the cost basis is that...

Thanks, Watty, delamer, and cas. This is all very helpful. I'll read guitarguy's posts too. Skimmed a couple and certainly seem pertinent. I didn't consider that social security may be relevant, and it turns out she is on it. Thank you for the tip. Yes, I've been going through many similar issues s...

Re: the tax hump...this was incredibly interesting to learn about. To put it somewhat correct and simplified, there is a huge marginal tax rate introduced (up to 40-50%) as capital gains income exceeds the top of the 15% bracket because each additional dollar generates $1.85 in additional taxable i...

No idea what to do beyond that [pre-2002 when availablity of tax return records ceases], hoping to figure out a way to estimate, or will be stuck using $0 as the cost basis I think you can do better than $0. At the very worst, you can determine the very lowest price paid for DTE stock between 1/1/1...

I believe the "covered" date is Jan 2011 for stocks, not 2012 as for mutual funds. An investment is considered covered if it is: Shares of corporate stock acquired on or after January 1, 2011. Shares of stock in mutual funds and stock acquired in connection with a dividend reinvestment plan are gen...

Here is a look at what I came up with as a way to estimate the cost basis on the shares that I can find records for. Basically I researched the median share price for the day that her dividend payment was made, and calculated based on that share price and the dividend amount, the number of shares t...

I agree with your strategy of first selling the shares where you can fairly easily determine the cost basis. And I agree with "cas" that it is very important to indicate to the broker that you want to use "specific identification" of the tax lots when selling. I agree that the screen shot seems to ...

But then, like you, I'm confused that that screen isn't even showing the covered share lots broken out as separate lots for you to select. (I kind of get that they might show all non-covered shares as one big lump, then put the burden on you to keep records of which lots you actually sold. But the ...

She has copies of her tax returns dating back to 2002, so if this methodology makes sense I could probably continue it back through 2002 based on her statements <skip> What should I do when the records run out prior to 2006? Is there a mathematical way to extrapolate, or another means of making a r...

Hi all - I've been discussing this topic as part of a separate thread, but I thought this issue might do better on its own by eliminating all of the other surrounding issues that are now figured out / unrelated. Big nod to user cas who has been an amazing help thus far for me! :D Short background: M...

I goofed...it only goes back to 2006 :( But at least there's 5 years of info there...better than nothing. BTW ... print off that screen (especially the earliest 2006 entry) now. I'm guessing they are keeping something like a constant 10 years of back data available online, and the earliest line(s) ...

I need to go somewhere, but 2 quick notes: First... That "Dividend Proceeds" table that goes back to 1996 is PURE GOLD! That "Gross Amount" (see note) column shows the cost basis for every tax lot back to 1996! And, because this a compounding situation - every quarterly dividend payout buys you mor...

I'd pay it off if I were you. I'd love to pay off my mortgage which is only $78k on a $150k house and 15-yr fixed at 2.875%. But we're not to the point where it makes sense yet. Our plan is 1. 401k (X2) to max employer match 2. Roth IRA (X2) to max 3. Add more to 401k (X2) until both are maxed out 4...

Third ... the distinction between "covered" and "non covered" shares is important. "Non-covered shares": Prior to 2011, individuals were expected to track their own tax lots and cost basis for stock. Once the computer age hit, if a person had a brokerage account, the brokerage would often do it for...

my interpretation is that for some amount of time (probably a long, long time because 1252+ shares were accumulated in this dividend reinvestment plan prior to 2011) someone in your family somehow acquired (bought? employee benefit?) some DTE stock and then was reinvesting all the dividends via a D...

On the trust date: the date I'm looking for is in the WF account name. You told us the whole WF account title at some point ... I think in your first thread where we were trying to figure out the nature of the trust. It is something like "My_mom revocable trust by my_mom DTD some_date" What is in t...

You've probably noticed this already, but your screen shot didn't post right. (It is complaining about a third party hosting service and not showing the screen shot.) I don't know how to post a screen shot on bogleheads, but I think I've seen other people discussing which third party host sites wor...

Something seems odd here (lucky you): all stock shares purchased after 1/1/2011 are considered "covered shares" and, upon sale, the brokerage is required to report the cost basis on the 1099-B to the IRS. (Before then, brokers were not required to report cost basis to the IRS.) (e.g. see https://tt...

Hi all, little update on this. I finally have access to her WF online account to look at the DTE stock. Actually it's up to $150k in value now. I see it's all in a single lot, purchased in 2012. I'll have to talk to her about if she remembers investing in this or what. 2012 is MUCH more recent than ...

2. Set her DTE account to reinvest the QDIs starting in 2018 since the amounts vary...this way for 2018 projection we don't have to worry about including them when deciding how much DTE stock to sell. This is a new thought...but seems like a good idea as I'm typing this... When you say "we don't ha...

3. Sell the $25k or whatever of the stock (calculate the proper amount minus the DTE QDIs she's received for 2017 YTD. 4. Deposit $1k or so into her savings account to "replace" the Q4 dividend she now won't be receiving from Vanguard IRA 5. Open a taxable account at Vanguard and invest all of the ...

I just want to make sure I direct her towards the smartest decision. Put on your hindsight glasses and you'll know what that is was. In your situation I'd likely decide to split the sales at least into two pieces, one for 2017 and one for 2018, based on the short time between now and 2018. That mig...

Sell the DTE ASAP, looks like it's at an all-time high. Not sure if your comment comes with a hint of sarcasm or not...but part of me thought of this. Since the topic of selling all the DTE has been raised, let me throw out this little tidbit: If your mother's Adjusted Gross Income (line 37 on the ...

Sell the DTE ASAP, looks like it's at an all-time high. Not sure if your comment comes with a hint of sarcasm or not...but part of me thought of this. She’d have to endure some high taxation for the amounts that fall within that hump, but because of the safe harbor it would be a one time deal this ...

The impact on federal income tax of increased LTCG and QDI is quite complicated when the taxpayer also receives Social Security benefits. Sure is. Compare the previous chart, which included the $5710 tIRA distribution, with the one below that assumes $0 tIRA distribution: https://s8.postimg.org/uc6...

Re: State taxes, yes we are in MI. I don’t have her return to look at, but she says she got a $1,200 property tax credit last year. I don’t know if there’s an income phase out of some sort for this credit or not. Need to look into this. I contacted her accountant and I’m having her advise on both th...

Based on a quick spreadsheet I made up, she would've been able to net about $16-17k in capital gains before she crossed that 85% SS tax threshold(s) ... Given $22,499 of SS and $2,675 of non-SS ordinary income your mother could incur $20,076 of long term capital gains (LTCG) plus qualified dividend...

OK...updating with info from her tax returns. Here is a summary of what I found from 2016: 9a/b: - $3969 - (her ordinary dividend income - qualified dividends from DTE stock) 13: - variable - (the amount of LTCGs she would incur from selling off DTE stock - was $0 in 2016) 15b: - $5710 - (IRA distri...

Not to hijack the thread but I have a related question involving capital gains at 0% and implication on taxing SS benefits. I'm asking for a parent who as asked for my help...and as I'm only 32 and this is new territory for me...I'm trying to learn all I can. The portfolio has roughly $100k of stock...

I think I was making a pretty bad mistake in calculating the amount of tax she would owe...by forgetting about the reduced tax rate on capital gains. This thread was super helpful!! https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=219736 Based on this thread, and the explanation of how LTCGs and QDI...

OP, My suggestion is to sell ALL DTE stock for the simple reason it is too risky and does not meet her portfolio objectives. Pay the taxes and invest based on your plan. You can make a quarterly payment by Jan 15, 2018 for FY2017. There are thousands of threads on the issue of Divedends versus sell...

Hi All, As a quick background, my mom has asked me for help with her finances. The previous thread touched on a few issues (housing, her revocable living trust, etc), but to start with I would really like to focus on the portfolio side of things and consult with this amazing forum on whether or not ...

1/12th of property taxes + homeowners insurance auto deposited into a separate savings account at Ally. Pay winter taxes in Jan, and summer taxes & homeowners insurance in Jul from that savings account. All done online. Easy - few clicks of the mouse twice a year and it’s done. And a few pennies in ...

Another thing I was thinking about that I don't have experience with: Roth conversions. Would it make sense at all for her to convert small chunks of this tIRA to a Roth because she's in such a low tax bracket? After all, her eventual forced distributions from the tIRA at 70 1/2 will increase her re...

We've got a upcoming family trip, for four of us. On the way out, we have a single/direct 8 hr leg. On the way back, we have a 7hr redeye flight back. Right now we've got basic economy booked, and have the option to upgrade to econ plus. The fliers are 5'10", 5'6", and 2 fliers are 5'2" in height. ...

My question is, how does one sift through the bucket and determine "which" shares of the stock are being sold if they weren't all bought at the same cost basis price? For example, purchase 100 shares of a stock at $50/share. A year later purchase another 100 shares at $100/share. Hold for 5 years a...

I messed around with the calculator a little...unfortunately I don't have a great grasp on the key things to look for while contemplating "what if" scenarios. What are the red flags? Well, now, that is a VERY good question. It might even be worth asking on that dedicated thread, to see if you get a...

Guitarguy ... Did you see the Social Security Tax Impact Calculator mentioned in the Wiki page on Social Security Taxation? (I just now noticed it.) https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Social_Security_tax_impact_calculator (Disclaimers: I haven't downloaded the spreadsheet, and I haven't played with it...

First off thanks for the detailed info! :beer Back to the "how do taxes on investment accounts work" issue... Basic, important concept: qualified dividends and long term capital gains get special (advantageous) tax rates. I like to picture how they work in terms of a bar chart. The Finance Buff crea...

She may think she has good credit but without credit cards, mortgage or loans, she likely doesn't. Combined with no job, I doubt she'd qualify for a mortgage. Work with her to sign up for Credit Karma and check her credit score. It's free, fast and easy and doesn't ding her score. I just looked int...

One other question: Is Wells Fargo charging fees on the brokerage account that holds the DTE? An AUM fee? (Banks are usually really big on fees, so I would be surprised if they weren't, but I have no knowledge on how WF does brokerage accounts. And I'm guessing that no WF financial advisor is invol...

I misspoke using the word "fund" I think. At the top of her 1099-DIV, it says "DTE Energy Company Common Stock" so it appears it's a singular DTE stock holding. I agree this is worrisome to me as well with 1/4 of her total retirement assets in a single stock. I really need some good info on what to...